Manure spreader



Feb. 24, 1942. H. M. JOHNSTON MANURE SPREADER Filed Jan. 24, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l 2 INVENTOR. HOPWLQD Mvbmvsro/v M A A TTORNEY Feb. 24, 1942. JOHNSTON 2,274,481

MANURE SPREADER Filed Jan. 24, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N V EN TOR. Hem/a0 Mdo/wsmv A TT ORNE Y Feb. 24, 1942. H. M. JOHNSTON MANURE SPREADER Filed Jan. 24, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 1 N V EN TOR. fiowqpa/iJo/ws ro/v A TTORNEY Patented Feb. 24, 1942 MANURE SPREADER Howard M. Johnston, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,

aasignor to Massey-Harris Company Ltd., Toronto, ntario, Canada Application June 24, 1938, Serial No. 215,595

3Claims.

The present invention relates to a tractor drawn and operated spreader having two ground wheels which are positioned preferably somewhat in rear of the longitudinal center of the box, the front end having a rigid hitch which extends a distance forward of the box whereby the device will be made stable after being connected to the tractor and act as a two wheel trailer to the tractor.

The present invention further relates to means for driving the spreader cylinders and feed apron by a connection to the tractor power take-oil.

The object of the present invention, generally stated, is to further mechanize and tractorize farm work, perform the operation more emcientl'y, at greater speed and with a considerable less effort on the part of the operator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a power loading spreader whereby anyone capable of driving a tractor can load the spreader.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simplified and more efhcient spreader and beater rotors, whereby the material is more effectively torn apart and spread over the ground and more efficiently moved from the box to the rotors. v

To these and other useful ends my invention consists of parts and combinations thereof or their equivalents, and mode of operation, as hereinafter described and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my improved spreader in its preferred design.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the design shown in Figure 1, the hood being sectioned on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the hitch and a fraction of the box illustrating the preferred manner of transferring the power from the primary to the secondary shaft.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of the adjustable hitch clevis.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of the left side of the spreader illustrating the apron operating device.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the ratchet mechanism taken on line 5-6 of Figure 5.

Fig. '7 is a transverse horizontally sectioned view of the gear box.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged top view illustrating the power take-off connection from the secondary shaft to the loading Windlass.

' bearing 42.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged elevation of the loading standard.

As thus illustrated, the box of the spreader is designated in its entirety by reference character A having a suitably positioned axle 20 upon which are mounted ground wheels 2|.

I provide a rigid tractor hitch comprising hitch bars 22 which are, at their rear ends, suitably secured to the box and converging forwardly terminating as at 23 and being secured together at their forward ends by means of a formed and downwardly extending bracket 24. The front edge is provided with a number of vertically spaced apertures 25, whereby a clevis 26 may be secured to any one of the apertures by means of bolt 21 to thereby provide convenient and vertically adjustable attaching means to the tractor draw bar 23 through a linch pin 29. Thus it will be seen that; I have provided a two wheel trailer adapted to be pulled by a tractor and having means for vertical adjustment at its front end.

I provide preferably a transverse brace bar 35 which is mounted on hitch bars 22 in the position illustrated. A primary shaft 36 is rotatably mounted on bar 35 by means of a suitable bearing 31 (see Figure 3) and being provided on its front end with a universal joint 38 having a shaft 39 the front end (not shown) being preferably supplied with a splined member and a universal joint which is adapted to be attached to the power take-off shaft of the tractor thus to provide suflicient flexibility for turning and moving over uneven ground.

I provide a secondary shaft 40 which is preferably rotatably mounted at its front end to the front end of box A by means of bracket ll and I provide preferably a sprocket 43 which is preferably secured to the rear end of primary shaft 36 and I mount a suitable sprocket N on the front end of shaft 40 and being positioned in alignment with sprocket 43, the sprockets being operatively connected by means of a chain 15; thus shaft 40 will be driven by the power take-off of the tractor, the direction of rotation being as indicated in Figure 3 by curvilinear arrow.

I provide a spreader rotor, a beater rotor and a transmission, each being designated in its entirety by reference characters B, C and D respectively.

Rotor B is carried by shaft one end of which is rotatably mounted on the inner member SI of the transmission housing as at 32. I mount a bevel gear 53 on shaft ill as clearly illustrated in Figure 7 and provide an outer gear box covering 94 which is suitably secured to member 5! as illustrated.

I provide a pinion 55 which is secured to the inner end of countershaft 59 this shaft being rotatably mounted in a housing 91 as at 59 and 59. The other end of shaft 59 is rotatably mounted on the box as at ill. Rotor C is provided with a shaft 9| which is rotatably mounted on the box A as at 62 and 69. I mount a chain sprocket B4 on the protruding end of shaft 59 and another sprocket 65 is positioned in alignment with sprocket 64 and suitably secured to shaft 6 l.

Sprockets 64 and 65 are operatively connected by means of chain 66. Thus it will be seen that rotors B and C will turn in the same direction and as illustrated by curvilinear arrows in Figure 2.

I secure spiral members 61 and 69 to shaft 59. These spirals wind in opposite directions as illustrated, and are secured to shaft 59 by welding or otherwise.

I provide suitably shaped teeth 69 on the periphery of members 91 and 69 thus when member B is turned the teeth cooperating with the spirals will effectively move across the entire width of the box and act to tear apart the material being supplied to the rotor and spread it rearwardly and outwardly fan-like.

The top of box A is a considerable distance above the top of rotor B and therefore the rearwardly moving material in the box might be carried in bulk over the top of rotor B. I provide novel means for preventing this by mounting a number of evenly spaced discs 19 on shaft 6|, these discs being placed at an angle on the shaft (see Figure 2) their peripheries being toothed similar to members 91 and 99 as at 1|, thus as the material approaches rotor B, rotor C will act to prevent it from passing in bulk over rotor B and will assist in loosening the material and spread it forward in the box.

Clearly the sides of disc 19 will be caused to travel at opposite angles during every revolution of shaft Bl thus the staggered and alternate movement of teeth H will completely break up the surface of the material as it approaches the rotor and act very similar to the teeth on rotor B except in rotor B the action of the teeth and spirals will be to spread the material fan-like as it passes over the rotor whereas the discs 19 will act to move the surplus material forward. In order to prevent the material from getting out of bounds as it is broken up and spread by the rotors, I provide a hood 12. The action of which will be understood without further description.

By referring to Figure 1, it will be noted that I provide a clutch member 13 which is secured to the forward end of shaft 56 and a collar ll, a spring 15 and another clutch member 16 having an operating connection to a lever 11, the lever being pivotally mounted as at 19.

I provide a rod 19 which extends forward and is operatively connected to lever 99, this lever being pivoted to the box as at 8| and having a sector 82, the sector being provided with a notch (not shown) whereby the lever may be moved and locked in its rear position to thereby disengage the clutch and when freed it will permit spring 15 to yieldingly engage the clutch members, the teeth in the clutch member being beveled to thereby permit slipping as a precaution against injury to the moving parts. Lever 90 is positioned at the forward end of the box So as to be within convenient reach of the operator when seated on the tractor.

I provide a conventional apron II for moving the material in the box rearwardly in the following manner:

The apron at its forward end is carried by sprockets 99 and in the rear by driving sprockets 81. The apron is provided with cross bars 99 which pass over the top surface of the bottom of the box thus when sprockets 91 are-turned in the direction indicated by arrow, the upper half of the apron will travel rearwardly to thereby move the material toward the rotors.

In order to satisfactorily spread and deliver a suitable quantity of material over the surface of the ground it is necessary to provide means whereby the speed of the apron 99 may be conveniently varied by the operator. I provide'an apron carrying and'driving shaft 9| and mount a ratchet wheel 99 on the protruding end of this shift. I rotatably support a shield 92 on opposite sides of this ratchet as at 99 and 94 (see Figure 6). Member 92 acts to shield the ratchet from falling dirt and material.

I provide a crank 99 which is preferably secured to the protruding end of shaft 9! as illustrated, this crank having a pivotal connection to member 92 as at v99 through a pitman comprising a rod 91 and a link 99, the link having a bridge as at 99, the upper ends of member 99 and member 99 have orifices for the free reception of rod 91.

I secure a collar M9 to member 91 and mount a spring IM between this collar and bridge 99 thus member 92 will be oscillated by crank 99. A ratchet dog I02 is pivotally mounted to member 92 as at I99 and a spring I is positioned so as to move the free end of the ratchet into engagement with ratchet teeth I99. Thus when member 92 is oscillated on its support, ratchet wheel will be caused to turn in the direction indicated by curvilinear arrow.

Crank 95 will have a length whereby member 92 will be oscillated over a range of four or more ratchet teeth. This will cause the apron to travel at maximum speed. To reduce the speed of the apron, I provide means whereby ratchet member I92 may optionally be caused to pass over any desired number of teeth per each revolution of the crank.

I pivotally mount a bell crank I 99 on member A as at I91, the upper end of this bell crank being operatively connected to the controlling lever I09 by means of a rod I99. Iever lfll is pivoted as at I I0 and is provided with a sector II I having a number of notches I I2 and a latch 9, whereby the lever may be moved to and held in various positions, the design being such that when the lever is held in its rear position, point Ill of the bell crank will permit full oscillation of member 92.

Member Ill of the bell crank is adapted to contact surface H9 when lever I99 is moved forward, thus this member Ill may be caused to contact surface III at various positions in its downward movement, the time of contacting depending upon the position of lever I99. Spring I9! acts to permit transmitting more or less of the crank movement to member 92. Thus it will be seen that the speed of sprockets 91 will vary according to the position of lever I99.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a manure spreader adapted to be pulled by a tractor and supplied with power from the power takeoff of the tractor, that I have provided means for evenly spreading the manure to any degree of thickness on the groundfimd convenient means for throwing the spreadinB mechanism" in and out of gear.

One of the hard tasks on the farm is loading the spreader. The manure is frequently diillcult to handle with a hand fork. I have provided means for making use of the tractor power for loading the manure into the box in the following manner: v

I provide a two bar standard I20 which is pivotally mounted to box A as at I2I and I22. A sector I20 is preferably secured to member I2I and is provided with a number of spaced notches I20.

I provide a forked lever I25 which is preferably hingedly secured to member I20 as at I20 and having a projection I2'I which is adapted to engage notches I20 when the lever is in its lowest position. Thus by lifting member I20, standard I20 may be swung to any desired position.

I provide a horizontally extended arm I20 which is suitably secured to member I20 as illustrated. A carriage I is preferably supported on member I28 by means of a top roller IOI and stabilizing rollers I02.

I provide means for moving and locking the carriage in any desired position on arm I20 by means of a hand piece I00 and a pin (not shown) which is controlled by the hand piece and adapted to engage any one of a number of spaced orifices I00 thus carriage I00 may be positioned any place along the length of arm I20.

I provide a grapple fork, which in its entirety is designated by reference character E. This fork is similar to the conventional double acting multiple tined hay fork having a trip rope I and a lifting cable I00 which passes over a sheave pulley I01 (the sheave pulley being rotatably mounted on member I00) and then to another sheave pulley I00 from whence it extends downward and over sheave I00 and to drum I00.

Sheave I09 is rotatably mounted on bracket I00 which in turn is secured to box A by means (if brace member I and a transverse L-iron I provide a bracket I05 which rotatably supports a worm gear I00 and drum I00 to which gear I06 may be secured. A worm pinion I01 is rotatably mounted on shaft 00 the teeth of which mesh the teeth in worm gear I00.

A clutch collar I00 is secured to worm pinion I01 and a clutch member I00 having teeth adapted to engage complementary teeth on member I00 is slidably splined on shaft 00. A lever I50 is pivotally mounted as at I5I the lower end being forked and adapted to operativeiy engage ground it will be caused to embrace a suitable quantity and when the fork is lifted to the desired height by pulling rearwardly on lever I50, it will be locked to member I00 after which the fork may be swung to any desired position over the box by means of lever I25 and when necesment. A manually operated crank or other means I is provided whereby drum I00 may be released from its connection to worm gear I00. Thus to permit the automatic or manual unwinding of cable I05 for purposes which will be understood without further description.

Thus it will be seen that the operator need only to manipulate levers I25 and I50 and trip rope I05 to pick up and release in the box a fork full of material.

Clutch members I00 and I09 are provided with beveled teeth which are held in mesh by pressure on lever I50 therefore under exceptional strains the clutch will slip and protect the loading mechanism.

Clearly many minor detail changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as recited in the appended claims.

Having thus shown and described my invention, I claim:

'1. A spreader of the class described, comprising in combination, a box having two carrying wheels one each mounted on opposite sides thereof, said box having a rigid forwardly extending hitch, comprising side bars having their rear ends secured in the forward sides of said box and converging forwardly, the forward ends being se--' cured together and having means adapted to be attached to the draw bar of a tractor, a transverse bar forming .a brace between said side bars and positioned a short distance ahead of the front end of said box, a longitudinally extending primary countershaft rotatably mounted on said transverse bar and its front end adapted to be operatively connected to a power take-oil on the tractor, a secondary drive shaft rotatably mounted on one side of said box and having a sprocket secured to its forward end, a sprocket secured to'the rear end of said primary countershaft, a chain forming an operating connection between said sprockets, a spreading cylinder having a shaft transversely and rotatably m'ounted in the rear end of said box, a bevel gear secured to one end of the shaft of said cylinder,

a relatively short countershaft rotatably mounted on said box and having secured thereto a bevel pinion adapted to mesh with said bevel gear. said last countershaft being in axial alignment with said secondary drive shaft, an overload slip joint forming an operating connection between adjacent ends of said last countersary by moving member I 00 on bar I20 and therf released by pulling trip rope I05.

It will be understood that member I00 will be free to move on member I20 after the fork is locked in its upper position, after which time the cable I06 will be free to permit this moveshaft and said secondary drive shaft, and manually operated means adapted to disengage said slip Joint.

2. A device as recited in claim 1 including; a' beater positioned above and slightly ahead of the vertical plane of said spreading cylinder and being operatively connected thereto, a chain conveyor in the bottom of said box being operatively connected to said heater and having means whereby the speed of the conveyor may be varied relative to the beater.

3. A spreader of the class described, comprising in combination, a box having two carrying wheels, one rotatably mounted on each side thereof, said box having a rigid forwardly extending hitch, said hitch comprising side barsin front of said box, a sprocket mounted on said countershaft and a universal joint on the fora relatively short countershaft rotatably mounted on said box and having a bevel pinion secured thereto and being operatively connected to said bevel gear, the forward end of said last countershaft registering with the rear end of said secondary shaft and having a detachable operating connection therebetween, a manually operable lever mounted on the forward end of said box on the side adjacent said secondary drive shaft and having an operating connection to said last operating connection.

HOWARD M. JOHNSTON. 

